Essential Health and Safety Study Skills

Jonathan Backhouse

• Publisher: Routledge
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN:
  9781138171657
• eBook ISBN:
  9781136230257
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Business General
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Studying for exams, working in teams, writing detailed yet succinct reports and importantly time management aren't second nature to most, so this book provides clear guidance and will be an essential tool for anyone taking a health and safety course.

For many students the learning experience will be a return to studying after some considerable time so this book combines practical advice with helpful exam-related information.

• Case studies and activities based on key health and safety topics that are covered by most Awarding Bodies
• Guidance on how to take both multiple-choice and written exams; with details on how to answer the action verbs, used in exams questions; including identify and outline
• Key principles teach how to Receive the information; Remember the information; and Recall the information for your exam

Key Health and Safety Topics

This section provides students with both:

• Key information for their studies.
• Examples of activities that could help them remember specific topics within a health and safety course.

Key Note

Health and safety topics covered in brief are listed below. These topics have been selected as they are common on most health and safety courses. By reading them here it will either give you the advantage of knowing many of the topics that will come up on your course; or if you have already sat the course/are sitting it, then this section is an excellent opportunity for revision.

• Accidents/incidents.
• Health hazards.
• Economic benefits.
• Sources of information.
• Roles and responsibilities in health and safety – UK.
• Roles and responsibilities in health and safety – International.
• Consulting and informing.
• Health and safety management system.
• Health and safety policy.
• Monitoring.
• Accidents and ill-health.
• Immediate and underlying causes of an accident.
• Recording and reporting.
• Methods of improving health and safety performance.
• Risk assessment.
• Health surveillance.
• Work equipment.
• Vehicles in the workplace – transport and pedestrians.
• Electricity.
• Fire.
• Ergonomic factors – manual handling.
• Ergonomic factors – repetitive physical activities/rapid tasks.
• Ergonomic factors – display screen equipment.
• Hazardous substances.
• Routes of entry of hazardous substances into the body.
• Welfare and the work environment.
• Stress.
• Violence.
• Noise.
• Vibration.
• First aid.

The activities below represent only a small example of possible activities. Once you have reviewed the following it will be possible to develop your own activities. The following table does not aim to cover all aspects of a health and safety course, but to summarize the main areas that may be covered.

The information used to develop the following has been taken from various HSE industrial guidance (INDG) documents, including:

Management and policy	INDG355, INDG275, INDG259, INDG132, INDG 232, INDG 213
Consulting and informing	INDG232
Health and safety management system	INDG275
Risk assessment	INDG163
Health surveillance	INDG304
Work equipment	INDG229, INDG270
Vehicles in the workplace – transport and pedestrians	INDG199, INDG255, INDG413
Electricity	INDG231, INDG236,
Fire	INDG227
Ergonomic factors – manual handling	INDG145, INDG242
Ergonomic factors – repetitive physical activities/rapid tasks	INDG171
Ergonomic factors – display screen equipment	INDG36
Hazardous substances	INDG136, INDG350, INDG352
Welfare and the work environment	INDG244
Stress	INDG424
Violence	INDG69
Noise	INDG362, INDG363
Vibration	INDG175, INDG296
First aid	INDG214

Activity

Once you have read the subject matter below look up the relevant HSE INDG documents. These may be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ and follow the links.

Key Note

The following activities may also be used in class by trainers when delivering health and safety qualifications.

Accidents/Incidents

The top three causes of fatalities, major injuries and absences over three days are:

Top three causes of fatalities:	– Fall from a height.
	– Struck by moving vehicle.
	– Struck by moving – including flying/falling object.
Top three causes of major injuries:	– Slips, trips and falls on the same level.
	– Fall from a height.
	– Injured while handling, lifting or carrying.
Top three causes of absences over three days:	– Injured while handling, lifting or carrying.
	– Slips, trips and falls on the same level.
	– Struck by moving – including flying/falling object.

Activity

Consider which of the above incidents are most likely to occur in your workplace.

Health Hazards

There are five categories of health-related hazards:

Category		Impact
1.	Physical	Hearing loss.
		Hand/arm vibration.
2.	Chemical	Chemical agents that affect the body; for example, skin – dermatitis/lungs – asthma.
3.	Biological	Biological agents that affect the body; for example, blood-borne viruses (e.g. HIV).
4.	Physiological/psychological	Stress and mental health.
5.	Ergonomic	Muscular skeletal disorders.

Activity

Consider which of the above hazards would be likely to occur and to have the greatest consequence within your workplace.

Economic Benefits

The economic benefits for an organization having good health and safety standards are:

• Improved company reputation.
• Improved production.
• Improved staff morale.
• Increased levels of compliance with rules and procedures.
• Reduced absenteeism.
• Fewer accidents.
• Reduced damage to equipment.
• Fewer fines and compensation claims.
• Reduced ill-health.
• Reduced insurance premiums.
• Fewer staff complaints.
• Reduced staff turnover.

Activity

Which are the most significant economic benefits for your workplace and why?

Good health and safety makes financial sense! In the event of an accident there are various costs that can result – direct and indirect – and which may be insured or uninsured.

Direct costs

Costs incurred by an organization or individual as a result of an accident or incident that can be readily accounted for; for example, fines, wage compensation, repair to plant or equipment, etc.

Indirect costs

Costs incurred by an organization or individual as a result of an accident or incident that can be inferred but which do not take the form of direct monetary outlays; for example, disruption to the work of other employees.

Insured costs

Financial losses resulting from a workplace accident that are covered by an insurance policy; for example, ill-health, injury and damage.

Uninsured costs

Financial losses resulting from a workplace accident that are not covered by an insurance policy; for example, lost time, extra wages, fines, legal costs, etc.

Activity

List the costs incurred if a serious accident happened in your workplace.

Direct costs

Indirect costs

Insured costs

Uninsured costs

Sources of Information

Sources of information used by an organization for health and safety purposes may be internal or external in nature. An...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• CONTENTS
• About the author
• Foreword
• Acknowledgements
• Clarification of terms used
• Acronyms used
• INTRODUCTION
• RECEIVE
• REMEMBER
• KEY HEALTH AND SAFETY TOPICS
• RECALL
• FINAL THOUGHTS
• Appendix: Useful books and websites
• Bibliography
• Index